Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ jacket goes on auction

Officials say garment of late star could fetch over $100,000

A motorcycle jacket worn by the late pop star Prince in his 1984 film Purple Rain when he rides through the woods with the movie’s leading lady, Apollonia Kotero, will be sold at auction, the company behind the sale said on Friday.

According to Reuters, the V-neck jacket, which is black with white cross-hatching and has leather sleeves from the elbows down, will be presented for sale in Profiles in History’s auction between June 29 and July 1 in Calabasas, California.

Brian Chanes, who handles client relations at Profiles in History, said the auction house received the jacket about six weeks ago, before the musician’s unexpected death on April 21 at age 57.

Officials from the company had estimated the jacket would sell for between $6,000 and $8,000, but that was before Prince’s death, which drew an outpouring of tributes for the seven-time Grammy-winner from US President Barack Obama, Hollywood figures and fans worldwide.

“Now, all bets are off,” Chanes said, adding that the jacket could fetch more than $100,000.

Profiles in History officials said few items of Prince memorabilia have ever been offered for sale.

The jacket was given to a make-up artist for Prince and Apollonia, the singer who starred as the pop star’s girlfriend in the film, and the make-up artist’s sister is the consignor for the sale, said Jeff Hare, a spokesperson for Profiles in History.

The auction will be open to participants worldwide through the Internet, the company said.

Prince’s death at his home called Paisley Park near Minneapolis is under investigation by officials in Minnesota, but they have said there is no indication of suicide or physical trauma.

Separately, as many as 14 albums by Prince have flooded back in to the British charts since his sudden death.

The Very Best Of Prince was at two, Ultimate was third and Purple Rain, OST from Prince & The Revolution climbed 51 places to fourth, the Official Charts Company said on Friday. Three more Prince albums entered the higher reaches of this week’s chart: The Hits/The B-Sides at 13, Sign O’ The Times at 15 and 1999 at 28.

On the other hand, Lemonade, Beyonce’s sixth studio collection, racked up 73,000 chart sales, setting Britain’s second-fastest selling artist record of 2016 behind David Bowie’s Blackstar.

It is her third chart-topping album in the UK, following her 2003 debut Dangerously In Love and 2011’s 4. Beyoncé’s chart success comes as she begins her blockbuster Formation World Tour, which will bring her to the UK in June.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2016.

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